CHAPTER 3
Wordlessly, Max reached out a hand to pull Maria to her feet, and the five of them climbed down the stairs. Heading outside, they turned around the corner of the building where they'd parked the Jeep and the Jetta earlier, hoping not to scare Michael off before they got the chance to talk to him. Maria's hands shook as she pulled out her keys and handed them to Liz. Alex gave her a hug before taking Isabel's hand and climbing with her into the back of the Jeep. With Max in the driver's seat, the Jeep led the two-vehicle caravan straight to the Crashdown.
Once there, they headed up to the Parkers' living room, nodding at Jeff Parker, who was going over some paperwork in the employee lounge, on the way.
"Hi, kids," the tall man said. "You and your friends want a snack, Liz?"
"No thanks. We're just heading upstairs for a quick study session, Dad," the girl replied.
"Sure. Let me know if you change your mind," her father offered.
Upstairs, the group sat down, Alex still holding Isabel's hand. Without even thinking about it, Max put his arm around Liz, who nestled into him. Maria sat numbly on the other end of the couch.
Isabel finally voiced what they were all thinking. "Nasedo?"
Maria shook her head. "No, I don't think so," she said slowly.
Max suggested, "Another alien? Another...shapeshifter?"
Again she shook her head.
"Maria, you said it wasn't Michael," Alex pointed out. "If not Nasedo or another alien, what could it be? Weird as things have gotten around here in the last year, I'm not willing to believe in demonic possession, so..." He stopped speaking as Isabel's elbow made a minor dent in his ribs.
"It's not Michael, and it is," Maria tried to explain. "I mean, there he is, standing there, and he's not, all at the same time." Her voice caught as she said, "He looked me in the eye, and there was nothing there. No spark, no anger, nothing that makes Michael Michael. I...I couldn't feel him."
"Feel him?" Isabel burst out. "This is no time to be playing touchy-feely games!" She sprang up and began to pace across the room.
Alex put a stop to the girl's frenetic pacing by reaching out, grabbing her hand, and holding it tightly. "Calm down, Isabel. That's not what she means. Is it?" he asked Maria, who shook her head again.
"No, it's just that I can always tell when he's there, you know? I don't have to see him, I just know he is."
"When did this start?" Max asked quietly.
"I don't know exactly...Sometime last fall, I guess. I just thought it was nerves at first. I mean, Michael can be pretty scary when you don't know him. Then when I did get to know him, I figured it was just a Czechoslovakian thing. I got used to it."
"And you never told me?" Liz questioned.
"I never told anybody. I never even told Michael. You and Max started getting those visions, and I thought maybe this was related, but...I don't know. It was just private." Her eyes dropped to the floor. "It...I felt special, you know?"
"This is how you knew when he was at the apartment this afternoon, isn't it?" said Alex gently. She nodded.
"I could feel it when he was outside the door. But when I looked into his eyes, nothing."
Maria glanced at the close-knit group of friends around her. She was relieved to see that they seemed to believe her.
"Well, what now?" asked Isabel, once more pacing across the room.
"Max, could you and Isabel try and read him? Maybe you can get a flash from him and see what's going on," suggested Liz.
Max frowned rubbed his forehead. "He's hardly likely to let us get close enough to do that. I don't think we'll be able to ambush him like that again."
Alex tried to break the tension in the room. "Well, going back to demonic possession, we could always try a little exorcism. Burn a few herbs, chant a little Latin, sacrifice a few little green alien dolls..."
Liz smiled, shaking her head, as Isabel picked up a pillow and smacked Alex in the head with it. Maria gave a small chuckle.
"Hey, a little help here!" begged Alex, grinning between blows from the pillow. Neither girl moved to aid their beleaguered friend.
Max smiled and tightened his hold on Liz, lacing his fingers through hers. She looked up at him and nodded. He gazed for a moment into her warm brown eyes before turning to his sister, his face serious. "I think it's time to dreamwalk, Isabel."
Once again, Maria rushed through the halls toward her locker, paying no attention to the people around her. Grabbing her lunch, she headed out towards the quad, her mind on Isabel and the previous night's dreamwalk. Hoping Isabel had been able to get some clue as to what was going on, she marched along, lost in thought.
She stopped abruptly to avoid running into a tall, male form that was planted in the hallway in front of her.
Looking up, she took in the dark brown hair and worried eyes. "Hey, Max," she said, concerned. "You look like you got about as much sleep as I did."
The tall alien shook his head slowly. "I stayed up most of the night with Isabel. She had trouble getting into Michael's dreams. Evidently he's not sleeping much, either."
"Did she get through?" questioned Maria impatiently. "What did she see? What was he dreaming about? What--"
"Hold on a minute, Maria," Max said, putting his hand out to stop her impatient queries. "That's why I was waiting for you. We're meeting on the quad. If Michael's not around, Isabel can tell everyone what happened."
Maria nodded and started down the hall. "How are you doing?" she asked, studying him carefully. "You're carrying enough on your shoulders already without having this weirdness to deal with." Putting her hand on his arm, she went on, "I know Liz has been worried about you, but so have Alex and I. You're our friend, too, you know? You mean a lot to us. So we worry."
Max covered her hand with his own. "I know. Your friendship, and Alex's, and Liz's, are helping me get through this. You all mean a lot to Isabel, too. And whatever is going on with Michael, he cares about you, in his own clumsy way. No matter how confused he gets, you should know how much you mean to him."
"Max, stop trying to make me feel better and let me know how you are!"
"I'm doing okay. We just need to get through this a day at a time."
Maria nodded. "Yeah, I know."
By this time, the two had reached their normal table on the quad. Liz, Alex and Isabel were already sitting and starting on their lunches. The other two humans looked almost as tired as Maria felt. She was inwardly amused, however, to see that despite her late night, Isabel was her usual perfectly made up and coifed self.
"You know, it's really not fair," she told the taller girl. "You've got to be as worn out and stressed as the rest of us, and look at you! Straight from a magazine cover."
Isabel smiled softly back at her. "I guess it's one of the few benefits of our genetic background. Instant beauty aids."
"Boy, if you could package that, you could make a fortune! Maybelline, look out!" teased Alex.
"And just how come you are familiar with Maybelline, Alex?" asked Maria, holding in a chuckle. "Been holding out on us?"
Alex snorted. "Oh yeah, I am such the beauty queen. Come on Maria, I've been hanging out with you and Liz for the last six years. I had to pick up something by osmosis."
Ever the leader, Max changed the subject. "Anyone seen Michael this morning?"
"He was in English. No change," said Maria soberly.
Liz added, "I saw him in the hall earlier, but he seemed to be avoiding me."
"Big surprise there," Maria grumbled.
Max turned to the scowling girl. "Is he around right now? Can you tell?"
She sat for a moment, concentrating. "I don't think so. I'd know if he were," she finally answered.
"Okay," he decided. "Isabel, tell everyone what happened last night."
His sister nodded. "It took a long time to get in," she said. "I mean, I can't dreamwalk him if he isn't asleep. I tried quite a few times before I could reach him at all."
"Well, what did you find out?" demanded Maria impatiently. Liz took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly.
Isabel slowly began to describe her experience. "It was strange. Usually people's dreams have a...well, dreamlike quality to them. Nothing seems quite real. But Michael's was very sharp and very focused, almost too real. It was the desert, but not the desert around here. No rock formations, no pod cave. The only things I could see were the flat sand and a very bright, empty sky."
"Did he realize you were in his dream?" asked Liz. "How did he react?"
"He wasn't in his dream. Nobody was, just sand and sky. I stayed in the dream for over an hour, wandering around, looking for him. I thought he might be hiding somewhere, and if I looked hard enough, I'd find him, or at least signs of him, but nothing. No people, no animals, not even any stars. Nothing at all. It was frightening. And as worried as I was about him, I couldn't find the energy to leave. Max had to wake me up."
"So Michael's not only avoiding us, now he's avoiding his own dreams?" asked Alex. "Strange is right, Isabel."
"How can you not be in your own dreams? What does that mean?" Liz thought aloud.
"I think my mom has some dream interpretation books. Maybe they could give us some clues," Maria offered.
"Actually, Isabel and I had another idea," said Max slowly. "If you can always sense when he's around, we thought you might be able to tell if he's really in his dream or not."
"Oh yeah," scoffed Maria. "I'll just crank up my Czechoslovakian superpowers and hop right on into Michael's head. Hey, remember, human, okay?"
"Cut it out, Maria!" Isabel said in exasperation. "We don't expect you to dreamwalk; we just thought that maybe I could take you with me when I do."
"What?"
"We think it might be possible," added Max.
"It's worth a shot, Maria," said Liz. Her brow wrinkled. "But only if it's not dangerous. If Isabel couldn't get out without you waking her, Max..."
Max looked at her understandingly. "We certainly don't want Maria to get hurt--"
Isabel broke in, "If she did, Michael--whenever he comes to his senses--would kill us."
Giving his sister a chiding glance, Max continued, "But we think it can be done. There are no guarantees, though, Maria. We haven't done anything quite like this before. It's up to you whether or not you want to try."
"Well, we don't have any other ideas, do we? And I am not going to spend the rest of my life worrying about what happened to Michael. He's screwed up enough of it already." Her eyes grew serious. "Besides, I trust you. So yeah, if there's a chance it will help, of course I'll do it."
Isabel smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks," she said simply. Maria nodded at her.
"Hey, I care about him, too, remember? No matter what is going through that twisted head of his. So when do you want to do it?"
"How about asking your mom if you can spend the night on Friday? It may take a while to get through if Michael's still not sleeping much, so it could be a long night. Liz could come, too," she went on. "We could tell our parents it's a sleepover."
"Well, I guess that leaves me out," said Alex. "I don't think any of our parents would go for a coed slumber party."
"If you can sneak out, you can always come in by my window and use the sleeping bag. Michael's done it hundreds of times," suggested Max.
"Great! Now I'm modeling myself on Michael Guerin of all people. Next thing you know, I'll be listening to Metallica and spiking my hair."
Liz and Maria took one look at each other and then back at Alex. "Naaahh."